It is evident, not only from this passage, but from all that is recorded on this subject, that, if Adam and Eve had not attained to a knowledge of evil, by partaking of the forbidden fruit, the human race could not have existed under present conditions. It is also evident, that without a knowledge of both good and evil, man would be incapable of exercising a free agency, and therefore not capable of independent, self-reliant action--a necessary condition for development and progress. We, the children of Adam, have no right to bring accusations against the Patriarch of the race. But father, we should rejoice with them, that through their fall and the atonement of Jesus Christ, the way of eternal life has been opened up to us. It was after an angel had administered to Adam, and made known to him the atonement through the Only Begotten Son of the Father, that he and Eve gave expression to their joy, in view of the glorious future of the race. "And in that day Adam blessed God and was filled, and began to prophesy concerning all the families of the earth, saying, Blessed be the name of God, for because of my transgression my eyes are opened, and in this life I shall have joy, and again in the flesh I shall see God. And Eve, his wife, heard all these things and was glad, saying, Were it not for our transgression we never should have had seed, and never should have known good and evil, and the joy of our redemption, and the eternal life which God giveth unto all the obedient;" Pearl of Great Price, page 10. The principle of obedience could only be developed in man through the fall, and only through that can they realize the joys of redemption and eternal life. The woman fell first, and led Adam out of Eden and the presence of the Lord. "Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in transgression;" 1 _Tim_. 2. 14. When the Lord asked Adam if he had eaten of the fruit of the tree, of which he had commanded him that he should not eat, he replied, "The woman whom thou gavest _to be_ with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat;" _Gen_. iii, 12. Adam had been previously commanded to multiply and replenish the earth, and he could not do so unless he remained with Eve. She, being deceived, forced upon him the necessity of partaking of the forbidden fruit with her, or of remaining in a condition where it would have been impossible to fulfil the first great commandment of the Father. Bible. _Gen_. 3. gives a general account of the fall of man. 15 enmity between the seed of the woman and that of the serpent. 16 woman to bring forth children in sorrow, and be subject to her husband. 19 man to labor for his bread, and to return to the ground. 22 man became as the Gods, knowing good and evil. _Rom_. 5. 12 by one man sin came into the world and death by sin. Book of Mormon. _Alma_ 12. 22, 23 by the fall all mankind became lost.